A wide variety of starch and protein-based snack food products are presently available to the consumer. Many of these products are in the form of chips, strips, and extruded tubular pieces. Some of these products are expanded or puffed and contain a cellular or honeycombed internal structure.
This invention relates to a fried snack product which is extruded and shaped into a design. The visual features of the design are articulated by the die design, which forms shaped adjacent dough planes (1) when viewed in a cross section. In conventional snacks, the orientation of the predominant fried dough plane is parallel to the occlusal plane of the teeth during mastication. However, products made by this invention are eaten predominantly in an orientation where multiple fried dough planes are perpendicular to the occlusal plane of the teeth during mastication providing a textural optimization challenge. If eaten like a normal chip, the snacks would be bitten at (3). Therefore, eating the product is like eating several snack chips, on edge, in unison. Surprisingly, it has been found that by incorporating the elements of this invention, desirable textures can be achieved for mastication of the product in this orientation.
The shape of the die and the size of the planes also presents problems in the development of the dough, shaping and keeping the integrity of the snack as it emerges from the extruder and as it is fried.
It has been discovered that forming a dough from both gelatinized and native starches, a protein-containing flour and an emulsifier provides a snack that has a good texture and taste.
Low moisture levels in the dough can prevent formation of a continuous, smooth extensible dough in the extruder. This can hinder subsequent expansion of the dough pieces during frying, even if the dough can be extruded into the shaped form. It also affects the elasticity of the dough. In addition, low moisture doughs tend to produce a harder and more brittle texture in the resulting snack products. It has been surprisingly found that the low moisture doughs of this invention can be extruded and fried with relative ease and still have a good texture.
It is therefore an object of this invention to make a fried snack which produces a uniform product in a controlled process with desirable texture after frying.